Healing and Hope: Brie’s Second Act

On September 19, 2025, Jeff C. received a call that he says saved his life.

The call was from Amanda DeJesus, an ASPCA admissions and placement specialist. She was calling to inform him that he had been approved to adopt a sweet, joyful dog named Brie.

Jeff, who had been in upstate New York at the time celebrating his birthday, says the call couldn’t have come at a better time.

A year prior, Jeff devastatingly lost his partner of 10 years. He had been caring for his sick partner for a while, so when he passed, Jeff was left feeling empty.

“I would sleep the whole day, sometimes two days and then not do anything, not eat. I had no direction,” explained Jeff. “There was nothing for me to focus on. With my character, I want to give love, I want to provide and keep on giving. Without that thing or person in my life, I’m so lost.”

Knowing he had to do something before his depression took hold, he decided that adopting a dog would give him a sense of direction. He went online and applied for three dogs at the ASPCA Adoption Center, one of which was Brie.

“Her smile drew me to her,” remembered Jeff. “I saw a picture and I said, ‘Oh my god, that’s adorable!’”

A few weeks later, he received that fateful call from Amanda letting him know he could come to meet Brie.

“The ASPCA gave me this gift that actually saved my life,” said Jeff. “When the ASPCA approved her [adoption] on my birthday, I knew it would change my life.”

But it wasn’t just Jeff’s life that was about to change for the better.

Brie’s New Beginning

At the end of February 2025, the NYPD received a call about Brie, who was found abandoned and severely emaciated. To receive urgent medical care, the roughly four-year-old  pup was brought to the ASPCA Animal Recovery Center where Dr. Kovach, the director of veterinary services, oversaw her medical care.

In our care, Dr. Kovach and our other expert medical professionals examined Brie, finding she had pressure sores all over her body.

“Pressure sores are open wounds seen over bony prominences due to lack of fat and muscle covering the bone,” explained Dr. Kovach. “The constant pressure of the bone against the hard ground without the fat or muscle buffer leads to open wounds.”

In addition, Brie was mildly anemic, had low protein and some electrolyte derangements, which are all commonly seen with malnutrition. About a week later, Brie had a dramatic decline where she became very weak, dull and was stumbling.

Our veterinarians determined that she had life threateningly low red blood cells and quickly admitted Brie to the intensive care unit (ICU) to receive blood transfusions. 

“It was also noted that she was bleeding in her gastrointestinal tract, which was the likely cause of her sudden drop in red blood cells,” recalled Dr. Kovach. “She required two blood transfusions to get her back to an acceptable level of red blood cells.”

After several days in the ICU, Brie was finally able to transfer back to the Animal Recovery Center.

“She still had a very long road to recovery as she needed to gain adequate body weight and heal her wounds,” said Dr. Kovach. “The malnutrition an emaciated animal suffers from disrupts many bodily functions due to lack of resources, one of which is wound healing. Therefore, wounds heal markedly slower in our emaciated patients.”

To improve Brie’s malnutrition and avoid “refeeding syndrome,” a potentially fatal syndrome that occurs when caloric intake is reintroduced too quickly, leading to dangerous metabolic derangements and fluid shifts in the body, Brie was placed on a refeeding plan. Refeeding plans are designed to slowly reintroduce caloric intake with a goal of maintaining their current weight, not gaining or losing during that period.

Once an animal comes off the refeeding program, they are given plenty of treats and are fed with an initial goal of gaining 20 to 30% of their initial intake weight. 

For Brie, it took about three months before she was at a healthy weight. At that point, she was able to undergo her spay surgery and move to the Adoption Center.

“Brie’s transformation from intake to release to adoptions was astounding,” Dr. Kovach reflected. “She had a very high will to live from the jump. She was facing an uphill battle and faced it with fortitude.  She was also one of the most gentle and well-mannered ladies that had come through the Animal Recovery Center. She accepted all treatments without fuss and always had love in her eyes. She was a medical staff favorite, and we were all very proud to see her graduate to adoptions.”

Finding Her Kindred Spirit

Now a healthy pup at the Adoption Center, Brie’s zest for life was able to thrive.

“At the Adoption Center, Brie totally blossomed into a new dog,” recalled Amanda DeJesus. “She was very happy, energetic and just glad to be around people. She was so full of joy, her eyes would light up and she would smile really big.”

Despite her past, Brie trusted people immediately, falling in love with everyone that walked by her and always asking for pets. She was also very eager to learn — so long as treats were involved!

“Her favorite snack was spray cheese, you could get her to do anything with spray cheese,” laughed Amanda.

Brie’s constant excitement and joy for her second chance at life was incredibly endearing to see but was occasionally too much for potential adopters. Our behavior staff worked closely with her to help her find outlets for her exuberance which greatly helped, but it was important that Brie found the right fit when it came to her new family.

At the Adoption Center, our available animals spend a median of eight days searching for an adopter before finding one. Brie spent over three months looking for her perfect match. But it seems she was just waiting patiently for her kindred spirit, Jeff, to find her.

Love at First Sight

Jeff knew the instant he laid eyes on Brie that she was the one for him.

“It was love at first sight,” he said. “We made eye contact and something clicked. I was like, ‘I’m not going to let you go. You’ll have a home tonight for sure — and you’re not leaving my side. This will be my daughter.’”

“Jeff understood her energy and was also so full of life. It just felt right,” remembered Amanda who facilitated Jeff and Brie’s meet and greet.

After seeing how well the pair immediately meshed, Amanda asked Jeff if he would be willing to take Brie home that same day, to which he emphatically responded, “Yes!”

“It was an honor to take her home,” Jeff told us. “I wanted to be that person to give her a home and give her that security so that she can just lie down and relax and say, ‘I’m home.’  I knew it would be a challenge, but it was nothing compared to the love that she gave me. That love that melts me away.”

As Jeff prepared to take Brie home, ASPCA staff from all over the building rushed to bid this sweet pup a final farewell after seven months in our care.

“It was really exciting and also very emotional at the same time,” said Amanda. “I always say dogs are really resilient no matter what they go through. Just knowing how Brie came in and the care that she needed throughout her time at the ASPCA, and then seeing her now, just wanting to give all her love and share her excitement with everyone. It’s such a beautiful thing to see. It was really rewarding to help Brie find her home. It gives you a sense of purpose and reassures you that you were made to do this.”

Diving in Headfirst

Brie, whom Jeff now refers to as Briana, acclimated to her new home seamlessly. From day one, she was playing with Jeff and snuggling with him on his bed.

Growing up, Jeff often watched shows and movies like Lassie and Benji, instilling a desire to one day have a dog of his own that he could run around and play fetch with. So, finding out that Brie enjoys fetch and playing in the park has been nothing short of a dream for him.

“To finally have my own dog, it’s such a good feeling to have your own family!” Jeff expressed. “I always used to think pet parents who were obsessed with their dogs were so weird, but I get it now. The way they dress up their dogs, I mean now I dress her up! I got a sewing machine so I could make her a costume. She’s my kid.”

In addition to playing and dressing her up, Jeff loves that Brie is always there for him when he comes home.

 “That’s the best part of it. The best part is that when you go home, someone is waiting for you and so happy to see you,” he said. “It’s not every day that happens to me, that someone’s happy to see me. But she is, she’s always happy to see me. That’s the best thing you can get from any pet.”

In fact, Jeff likes coming home to Brie so much that he tells everyone she has separation anxiety!

“I cannot leave her alone. I tell everyone she has separation anxiety, but no, it’s me, I’m the problem,” Jeff laughed. “I get anxious when I leave her behind. And all she does is sit on the couch and sleep, she doesn’t rip things, but I can only leave her for two hours and then I get anxious. Not the dog, me!”

Jeff is even planning to buy Brie a cart to sit in so he can take her to the beach this summer.

“I want to bring her with me everywhere I go,” he told us.

Mending a Broken Heart

For Jeff, adopting Brie wasn’t just about finding a pet, it was about finding a sense of purpose and a new spark of joy.

“Before Brie, there was nothing. I didn’t look forward to waking up the next day,” said Jeff. “Death, for me, is such a big deal. I also lost my mom. I felt like everyone was leaving me. And then I got Brie and it was more than words. The loss I experienced is hard, and it’s hard to move on. But Briana is teaching me to move on. She helps me focus not on death but on life.”

“When she wakes me up and she cuddles with me, it’s a warm feeling. A feeling that someone is there and waiting on you and loving you,” Jeff added. “And I get to be a dad! I feel like what I’m doing is making a living thing happy. It makes you want to improve more and step up every day. I want to work and earn money for her; I want to buy her more toys, to keep spoiling her. She pushes me to be better. She’s a constant in my life and I thank the ASPCA for giving that to me.”

In Jeff’s mind, the only thing that would make his life with Brie even better is if she had gotten the chance to meet his partner.

“He encouraged me to get a pet,” Jeff explained. “He would love Brie. I wish he could just see her, play with her, it would be a nice picture to see.”

Drawing Parallels

It’s hard to look at Brie and Jeff’s journeys and not see the incredible similarities between the two, going from a life of heartache, to searching for someone to take a chance on them, and then finally falling head over heels in love.

“Her journey from bad health to good health and my journey from depression to getting better is synchronized. We took the same steps. It’s amazing that a dog can actually pair with your life. The moment I saw her, I knew I wanted to make her life better, and I knew she would make my life better,” Jeff told us. “I’ll do my very best to take care of her. She’s family. She’s counting on me to take care of her — what else is there? As long as I’m able to make her life better, happier and healthier, for me, that’s enough.”

“I thank the ASPCA for being there at her lowest, before anything worse happened to her. Not every dog that is suffering gets saved and not every dog gets a home. But the ASPCA saved her, and I’m glad I get to be that good home. I get to be the good part.”

Help More Animals Like Brie This ASPCA Giving Day!

Making a journey like Brie’s possible relies on so many people, from our medical staff who saved Brie’s life, to our behavior team who worked to get her ready to find a home, to our integrated care team who took Brie on walks and cleaned her kennel to our admissions and our placement team who found Brie her perfect match. Yet none of this lifesaving work would be possible without our supporters and donors.

April 10 is ASPCA Giving Day, celebrated every year on the anniversary of our founding in 1866. And this year, we’ll be celebrating 160 years of creating second chances for animals in need, animals just like Brie! ASPCA Giving Day is the perfect opportunity for animal lovers everywhere to make a difference and join an ever-growing community fueled by compassion.

Together, we’ve built a legacy — and the best is yet to come. Join us in celebrating and show your support on ASPCA Giving Day! Visit www.aspca.org/GivingDay to learn more.